This week while I was preparing for Sunday’s message which is based on Acts 2:42-27 I ran into this great quote:
“A New Testament church is a church in which God is present through His Spirit, and in which He is powerfully at work to glorify Himself by manifestations of His power and grace. A New Testament church is a church where the fruits of the Spirit are as evident as the manifestations of His power. That is the kind of church we desire to be.” (Bible.org)
So many local churches simply don’t look or act like the churches we read about in the New Testament, and especially in Acts, because we just don’t seek and follow God’s Spirit. A New Testament church is a church where God’s Spirit is alive and active, moving in and through the lives of believers…and even non-believers!
When God’s Spirit moves, it is powerful! When the Holy Spirit is active, it is beautiful! And it only happens when we truly desire and seek God’s Spirit in our own lives. Jeremiah 29:13 says, “You will seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart.”
More than anything else I desire for Neel Road to be a New Testament church. For every person to know the God who gives each of us new life each day, to have a relationship with Jesus Christ that is life-changing, and to be powerfully and wonderfully filled with the Holy Spirit!
For the next five weeks or so I will be preaching a series of messages based on the passage mentioned above. The title of the series is called “Getting Church Right.” I hope you can join us.
The way we go about making decisions is usually just as important as the decisions we make. If our decision-making process is flawed so will our decisions be.
Here are four Biblical principles for making Godly decisions that you can apply to just about any decision in life.
1. Always seek to glorify God. In everything we do and especially in our decisions – seek to glorify God. Matthew 5: 16 states, “In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your father who is in heaven.” With every decision we make we should ask ourselves, “Will this glorify God?”
2. Pray for God’s clear guidance and direction. How many times do we just rush into a quick decision without even praying about it? Check out Proverbs 3:5-6. The Bible warns us against running out ahead of God and just relying on our own understanding. God desperately to help us, to love us, and to guide us through life’s toughest decisions.
3. Weigh every decision against God’s Word. Many believers struggle with this one simply because we do not take time to read and know God’s Word. God’s Word is suppose to abide in our hearts. If we don’t know ANYTHING or just very little about God’s Word we’re going to make very bad decisions.
4. Consider the results and the consequences. How many times do we make short-sighted or quick decisions without really thinking them through? How many times do we make decisions without really weighing out what the results or the consequences may be. Check out Luke 14:28. God has given us a brain to use and the Holy Spirit to guide us! Before you make your next decision – think it ALL THE WAY through!!!
One of my favorite preachers, Charles Stanley, often says, “Obey God and leave all the consequences to him!”
Not only is this wonderful advice, but it is also a great truth of the scriptures. The problem is that we don’t always obey God and when we don’t there are consequences.
Here are a few lessons about obeying and disobeying God that I’ve learned from my own life and study. . .
1. Obedience is easier than disobedience. Life is actually way more fulfilling and meaningful when we obey God than when we don’t. The consequences of disobeying God make life a lot harder.
2. Obedience or disobedience is a choice that we make. God wants to bless us and love us in his care. Yet he gives us the choice to obey or not and when we choose to disobey God’s word and promises we have to live with our choice.
3. To disobey God is to partner with the devil. Satan IS the ruler of this world. Check out 1 Peter 5:8 and 2 Corinthians 4:4. Satan IS looking for anyone who is weak or who does not recognize his schemes and ways. He will come your way to lead you to disobey God.
4. Disobedience has earthly and eternal consequences. We often experience the earthly consequences of disobeying God but seldom recognize the eternal consequences of disobeying God. DON’T GET ME WRONG! When we disobey God does he still love us? ABSOLUTELY!!! But there are still eternal consequences to disobeying God that we never even consider that will far outweigh the earthly consequences we experience.
The Hebrew word for obey, shama, means “to listen.” To obey God means to listen to and for him. To disobey God means to disregard God’s word and direction for our lives.
This week while I was preparing for Sunday’s message which is based on Acts 2:42-27 I ran into this great quote: 
